A/N: I recently wrote a oneshot fic called His Only Weakness. I'd appreciate it if you guys would take a look and tell me what you thought. Thanks!

Happy Reading!

Whisper to a Scream - Chapter 29

"Draco, come join us!" she called, a broad smile spread across her lovely face.

He shut the sliding door behind him and proceeded to walk toward the beautiful girl whose hair was placed high up on her head in a loose ponytail, an elegant ribbon holding it together. Draco somehow lost feeling in his legs, her beauty taking away his breath all over again, a quality which went unknown to her.

Light laughter along with a baby's giggle, his baby's giggle, removed the numbness allowing him to walk again. He took a few strides toward the two, the need to be near them taking over him. Somehow...something felt wrong. Even though it was a lovely crisp day, wind was blowing and the sky was an incredible shade of blue, something was amiss; wrong. He could sense it.

"Hermione–"

His heart stopped. Draco's heart literally sagged and clenched beneath his rib cage, a jolt of fear ceasing all bodily movements.

Lucius. His silvery eyes, the same eyes occupied by said man, scanned over the situation as though he was looking at a picture book, frame by bloody frame.

Hermione - swing - baby - swing - smile - swing - Lucius - swing - FUCK!

"Hermione!" he bellowed, his legs locked to the ground. He could not move, could not get to the woman he loved who was also holding his very child. His bloody father, the bastard which had claimed to care about him (never love; too much feeling in that word to display on even his own son), was creeping up behind her about to strike, much like a snake.

And he could not fucking move.

"HERMIONE!" he yelled, his voice hoarse with emotion. For some odd reason it appeared she could not hear him, could not see him standing so close to her.

"What the hell? Hermione BEHIND YOU!"

"Avada kedavra!"

"NO!" screamed Draco as he dropped to his knees, his legs no longer locked. Draco had been a witness, a bloody spectator, as his father hit Hermione from behind square in the back of the head with the killing curse, forcing her to succumb to darkness instantly. His child held firmly in the lovely arms of Hermione, had fallen into a heap beneath her.

"See son," hissed Lucius, "I told you that filthy mudbloods were a waste of time. And how could you have bred with her? Big mistake."

Lucius lifted his wand, the tip pointed directly at Draco's heart...

"HERMIONE!"

Draco's body was practically under convulsions as he flew out from beneath the tangled sheets, shaking madly in the large bed. His baby fine hair was matted to his forehead while his shirt was clinging to his sleep warm body, all drenched in hot sweat. One might have looked at him to see a sick man whereas he merely was the victim of a dreadfully realistic nightmare.

It took several moments before his vision returned to normal, the dark room finally stopped spinning, allowing him to grasp a hold of the situation. His first instinct was to find Hermione, hold her, and never let go, but he resisted once his eyes landed upon her sleeping face. She was far too peaceful to wake up, or so he thought.

He placed his flushed face in his shuddering hands, panting out his breaths in thick puffs. With his eyes clenched tightly and his reddened cheeks sucked in, he repeated over and over, "It was just a dream. It was just a dream. It was just a dream."

Suddenly, frighteningly along with it, he felt a hand graze the top of his back near his shoulder blades. He reacted by jumping away, defense mode rising up to protect himself before he realized it was simply Hermione resting a comforting hand on his back.

"Draco what's wrong?" she asked, her voice full of concern. Those three words had been nearly the same amount said in every conversation for the past two days. Exaggeration aside, Draco and Hermione had done little talking since the day she told him about Lucius so waking up to see Draco covered in perspiration and gasping like a madman thoroughly scared her.

Draco, whose eyes were now bloodshot and glazed over with partial sleep, turned away from her. "I'm fine, Hermione. I'm...just–I'm fine."

"You must have had a nightmare. You want to talk about it?" she asked gently.

"No," he snarled harshly.

Hermione shifted away from him in the bed, unaware that his stark response was geared more at the thought of protecting her, not wanting her to know of his horrid dream, rather than being mad at her. Draco's heart tugged at her relocation away from him, but he refused to say anything else.

His pride would not let him.

He was just wounded too deeply.

"Draco are–"

"I'm fine Hermione," he said, much calmer than before; "I'm going to go take a shower. We have to be over to Potter's early anyways."

With those words said, he placed a chaste kiss (A forced kiss, she thought bitterly) against her forehead before leaving her in the bed, her heart swollen with anguish. Hermione had attempted several times over the prior two days to apologize, to just talk with him about why she did what she did, but he would have none of it. In the end, the silence was just about killing her.

Draco did not react out of sorts by screaming and yelling, but merely stopped talking to her. He was just so hurt by how the girl of his dreams, the woman carrying his child, had lied to him. Not just any lie, but she blatantly lied to his face. Honesty was key in their relationship given that so much began with lies; namely about their former spouses.

He knew better than to be pushing her buttons like that, what with being so close to her due date, but he just could not bring himself to accept her apology. On a certain level, he understood why she did it, her curious nature being the way it was an all, but to lie to his face...it was betrayal; perfidy even.

The hot water on his back was scorching, pain surging throughout his body, him all the while welcoming the smarting ache. He wanted to feel the stinging twinge of agony against his skin, something which made him feel alive. He had to be strong.

Against Lucius.

For Hermione.

For himself.

Even though he remained a stronghold on the outside, protecting himself from surrendering to the fear in view of Hermione's dread over his father, the man was bloody scared. The last two days had been hell on him, especially since he continued to stay mad at Hermione. Curse him, he wanted to forgive her—he should forgive her his conscience told him. He had to admit, he was tired of sleeping without the warmth of her pregnant body pressed against his bare chest. The distance, even if they were in the same bed, was wearying him. He missed his Angel.

Stepping out of the shower, he wrapped a warm towel around his body, preparing himself for the day's events. Today was the day Harry Potter finally wed Ginny Weasley.

Actually, that was how they got themselves into this mess. The letter Ginny sent to Draco and Hermione the evening of her parent's dinner, was to inform them about the couple's change of plans. Since Harry was only the most famous war hero in all of magical history marrying fellow war hero Ginny Weasley, their wedding was publicized bigger than when Lockhart began teaching at Hogwarts many years ago. Well wishers and admirers, not to mention the ghastly Rita Skeeter along with other prying reporters, were anticipating this wedding with much delight. Harry and Ginny, on the other hand, were not too keen on publicizing their marriage ceremony.

A solution finally came about when Fred Weasley suggested they simply push up the nuptials and marry when nobody expected it, allowing only close friends and family to attend. Harry and Ginny were more than enthused about the plan.

Today was that day.

Draco had walked back into the room passing by Hermione as she walked into the bathroom. She exchanged a hopeful glance with him searching, pleading, his eyes for forgiveness; she received none.

Draco's heart sank when he heard fitful sobs before the shower drowned them out.

"Ginny you look radiant," said Hermione with a smile.

Her redheaded best friend faced her, joy and happiness practically dripping off of her petite frame as she asked, "Do you think Harry will like it?"

"He will, but in the off chance he doesn't then screw him; I'll marry you." Thought it was said jokingly, Ginny could hear the sadness in her friend's voice.

"Draco still not talking to you?"

"I mean...he has a right to be mad. I would be mad too, but to just shut me out like this, when we need each other most, is just plain cruel. I don't know what I'm going to do."

"He'll come around. It's Draco so you know it's his pride getting in the way. Not to mention he's a man which says a lot right there."

Hermione chuckled, but it was light and ended quickly. Ginny could not only sense by her friend's voice but by the way she looked that Hermione was hurting. Both of them were.

Damn ruddy pride...

"Enough though. Today is not about me because today is all about you and Harry. You're going to have the best wedding because you're marrying an incredible man who loves you with everything. Today is all about you, Gin."

"Oh trust me, honey, I wasn't disputing that," grinned Ginny, her eyes slowly starting to tear, "but it was sweet none the less. You're the sister I never had 'Mione!"

Ginny threw her arms around Hermione, careful as to not hurt the baby growing in her belly, tightly. The two women hugged and cried for a few moments before Molly Weasley and Kathy Granger, personally invited by Harry Potter himself (not that she really knew the extent of Harry's fame in the wizarding world), walked into the room.

"Oh Ginny, you two need to stop. You'll ruin your make up," said Mrs. Weasley in a choked voice. It was clear she was suppressing her urge to cry on the day her only daughter was wed.

"Is it time mum?" asked Ginny with excitement.

"It is. Your father is waiting and we're here to help Hermione get out there." Hermione scoffed at this.

"I'm quite capable of getting out there on my own. It's not as though I'm made of bloody glass," she growled eliciting a laugh out of the other three women.

"Even so, I'm still your mother," chimed in Mrs. Granger; "so we will be helping you out there whether you like it or not. I swear you are just like your father with your stubbornness."

Hermione could not resist smiling. Mrs. Granger and Mrs. Weasley got on either side of her gently helping her up from the sitting position. Together, the three women left the room to allow Arthur Weasley one last talk with his daughter before he gave her away to another man.

The ceremony was brief though more beautiful than any of them could have imagined or expected. Hermione beamed standing next to Ginny, pink flowers in her hand, Draco all the while smiling at how stunning she looked. Hermione's eyes briefly left the ceremony to seek out Draco who shared her gaze. For the first time in two days, Draco gave her his dashing smile rendering her dazed.

Hermione was brought back to reality when Draco looked away to find Ginny and Harry sharing their first kiss as husband and wife. Hermione clapped enthusiastically, walking behind the newly married couple to venture into the reception, all being held at the incredible estate of Harry and new Mrs. Potter.

Once inside, the celebration took off immediately with the festivities being positively breathtaking. Hermione hoped the smile she shared with Draco during the ceremony would reflect his actions toward her during the rest of the night; she was wrong. Instead of embracing one another, he remained standoffish and mum the whole night much to her utter dismay.

"Hermione may I have this dance?"

Hermione looked up to see the loving cobalt eyes of her dear friend Ron Weasley, hand extended for her to take. She turned to exchange a glance with Draco whose demeanor seemed to change as soon as the redhead walked over to their table. She saw a look of jealousy immediately flash behind his silvery eyes before his emotions were hidden again. Someone who did not know him would not have seen it, she guessed Ron had not considering he was still holding out his hand, but Hermione saw it...Draco knew she saw it.

Hermione looked back at Ron with a smile.

"I would love to. I've been waiting to dance all night," she said with a hint of bitterness.

"Then dance we shall," quipped Ron, helping her up from her chair before he led her to the dance floor. Ron placed a hand on her waist, much too low for the liking of Draco, while holding her hand to his chest, his stomach pressed against her protruding belly. They swayed to the soft lyrics of Twitchy, a group of wizards and witches whose voices match those of hypnotic sirens, enjoying the company of the other.

"You look beautiful Hermione," he said gently.

"Thank you Ron. Pregnancy is not as bad as I thought it would be. I figured I would be mad all the time or sad or pissed off about gaining all this weight or...I don't know. I didn't expect to feel happy."

"Are you happy? You've looked rather forlorn all night. Others may have believed your smile, but I know something is wrong." Hermione smiled, shaking her head. He just knew her so well it baffled her sometimes.

"Draco and I haven't been speaking the last few days so I've been a little down."

"Bugger. He shouldn't be upsetting you like this," he growled, gently squeezing Hermione's waist.

"It's my fault, really. I did something stupid and selfish and...dangerous so I don't...I don't blame him for being mad." Her voice quaked with emotion. The last thing she needed to do was to start crying on his shoulder in the middle of Harry Potter's wedding! Suck it up! Damn, foul hormones—Hermione, you can do this so just suck it up.

"No matter. I don't care what the circumstances are, he shouldn't be doing this to you. You deserve better than that Hermione and especially since you're pregnant. The stress he is putting on you is ridiculous."

"Well," she said, the need to defend Draco probing at her, "I guess he is under just as much stress as me. I don't blame him for being angry with me."

"I don't care what you did; days without speaking is just wrong. My guess is the ferret has yet to apologize, right?"

"Ron you're overreacting and it was my fault. I'm the one who should apologize so just...can we drop it? How about you? How was your trip to Romania?"

Meanwhile...

"Draco I expected to see you and my daughter dancing all night? Something the matter?"

Draco smiled forcefully when Mr. Granger took a seat next to him, two glasses of firewhisky in his hand. He handed Draco one and took a thin sip from the other, his eyes, Hermione's eyes, still on Draco.

"Hermione and I...well the little spat you saw the other day is still kind of hurting us. I guess I'm still a little mad."

"Women can be brutal," uttered Mr. Granger cynically. The man's voice lessened when he said, "Look I don't know the details other than what she did was bad given she immediately apologized. I may not have seen my daughter for years, but I still know the girl is stubborn like me so for a Granger to say sorry—she means it."

Draco nodded, a sigh escaping his lips.

"I did, however, see my daughter looking lackluster all night. Now she looks absolutely beautiful right now so do you really want to pass up the opportunity to dance with someone so gorgeous?"

Draco never heard him because before the man had the opportunity to finish, Draco was striding, nearly galloping, to the middle of the dance floor prepared to pummel Ron Weasley within an inch of his life.

Ron had kissed her.

He had seen the fucking brute bend down and lower his lips onto Hermione. Draco, in all of his rage, did not even see Hermione put her hands on his shoulders in an attempt to push him back. He did not see her slap the man across the face.

He did not see any of it. He just knew he wanted to kill him for touching his girl.

Draco could faintly hear Hermione's raised voice as he approached the two of them, but he was not actually listening to her words. He wasn't listening to her say, "...and furthermore you know I AM with Draco and yet you STILL kissed me. How dare you—"

SMACK!

Draco's fist connected with Ron's freckled face faster than he could say 'golden snitch'. Hermione stood back positively flabbergasted before she screamed for the two of them to stop fighting, to stop the madness. Ron was on the ground pulling out his wand while Draco struggled to wrap his hands around Ron's neck.

Harry had reacted with the same agility Draco had only moments before, the seeker reflexes overtaking him, as he launched himself over to the scuffle trying to stop Draco from pouncing on his best man. If it were not for Harry and Bill Weasley holding him back, Draco most likely would have killed him.

"Don't you ever touch her again! Don't you ever touch my Hermione again!"

"Are you kidding me?" Draco was surprised when he heard those words. Actually, it was not the words which shocked him, but the person who said them.

Hermione.

"Hermione he kissed you–"

"And I was handling it! I–" she broke off, anger and embarrassment spread across her face, the red hue on her cheeks proving such. Everyone was watching the spectacle like a game of quidditch, but she ignored it. Feelings of overwhelming frustration and hurt were too much for her to let subside in the moment.

"Let's see, you don't talk to me for two days and now suddenly you're fighting over this," she snarled.

Draco clenched his teeth, anger and fury forcefully welling up in the pit of his belly, and hissed, "I was not going to let him kiss my girlfriend."

"Oh I get it," she said, a tense laughter leaving her voice, "You don't want to talk to me because of something I did, but as soon as someone threatens to take something of yours then all is just forgotten. Talk about being a Malfoy."

Even Ron would admit that was a low blow.

"Hermione you bloody know that's not what I meant!"

"At this point I don't even care. I'm done caring right now because just like you, I'm hurt Draco. I'm really hurt!"

And she was. He could see just how hurt she was when he looked in her dark eyes.

The punch did feel good though. Aside from the fact he deserved it, Draco had been wanting to hit Ron for years and finally got the opportunity. Yeah...it felt bloody great.

Focus—he reverted his attention back to Hermione whose arms were crisscrossed against her chest, her mouth pursed in irritation and disappointment.

"Hermione–"

"Save it. I don't want to hear how you were defending your honor because it sure as hell wasn't about defending mine."

"Damn it Hermione, will you listen–"

"No, Draco, I'm done listening. I'm completely done."

Hermione moved past him, but like deja vú in reverse, he grabbed her arm before she could leave entirely. Her eyes lifted up to meet his, fire in both copper swirls and silver orbs.

"Angel listen to me–"

"Just let me go Draco. I need to get some air."

She wiggled herself free from his grip and began walking to the exit, not before stopping at the door. With her back to him she muttered, "And Draco, don't follow me."

Hermione left the room, the very silent room.

"Okay," said Ginny, breaking the silence after several long and tense moments; "I think it's time to start dancing again!"

Music continued and everyone tried to continue on with the festivities without one person whose presence was missed. Draco exchanged a fleeting look at Ron before he turned his back on him to venture back to the table, the need to kill him still fresh in his mind.

Oh how Draco would regret this. It would be one of the biggest regrets of his life because unlike Hermione, he did respect her wishes. If she did not want him to follow her than so be it. He would not follow her.

And he didn't follow her.

He should have.

He didn't.

"The lot of them can go to hell! All of them, bunch of evil–"

For the sake of her unborn child who could feel her tense nature, even in the womb, she stopped her cursing streak and dissolved into gentle sobs. Unlike other times, these were sobs of frustration and anger than anything else.

How could Draco think so little of me? How dare he think of me as like that?! Oh and what was with Ron acting like such a brute? I should have cursed him myself had my wand actually been on me, but nothing can fit in this dress since I'm so damn big–

"Don't scream."

The voice was more horrifying than what she had imagined it being like ever since she saw Lucius in Azkaban. The voice in the back of her mind had been nagging her to believe in Lucius' threat, to understand he was capable of something, but she did not expect this.

Because this was not Lucius.

She knew his voice, nobody could forget such a menacing voice after malicious and callous words had been uttered through it. Whoever this was had a strong arm around her waist, the other hand placed unrelenting over her mouth to stifle any noises lest her common sense was lost and she did try to scream.

"Don't struggle against me. Lucius told me to have fun with you so at this point...you're mine."

Those words did her in. Had he not claimed her as his, she would have remained quiet and perhaps that would have been the wisest decision. She just could not let somebody claim her again, especially when she was already very much taken.

Her teeth clamped down on her attacker's hand, peppery blood dripping in her mouth. Directly after he yanked his wounded hand free, she screamed—

"DRACO!"

The noise had stopped in the reception, Hermione's cry terminating all activity. Draco, who was sitting down and sharing a strong drink with Mr. Granger, reacted with lightning speed hurling himself out of the room to find Hermione.

He was too late.

By the time he reached the presence of the night air, he already saw a dark figure over Hermione. Draco's heart stopped, time stopped, everything stopped in that one moment—

For the figure was performing the Cruciatus Curse on his Hermione who was thrashing on the ground, clutching her stomach.

A/N: So let me know what you guys think?

I apologize for not updating for quite some time, but I was suffering from a severe case of writer's block. Nothing was coming to me and I refused to put out something that seemed half-assed or something I did not like - Know that I wrote this chapter four different times. So I waited for something to hit me which, obviously, something did. I actually attempted to post this last night, but the stupid site was not working. I kept getting the error form so I had to wait until now to post. Sorry for the wait and I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as possible.

"Whisper to a Scream" is by the band Soho. It's a remake, but the version I listened to once I finally got the inspiration I needed was by Soho. Anyways, it seemed rather fitting. I thought of the lines, "we are, we are, we are, we're just children, finding our way around indecision. We are, we are, we are rather helpless. Changes forever, whisper to a scream."

READ AND REVIEW!! If you can read it, then you can review it!

Iris is the work of fanfiction. The characters belong to J.K. Rowling, but the featured story is mine.